2010 NBA All-Star Selections: The Worthy, the Unworthy and the Snubs

The rosters for the National Basketball Association's 2010 All-Star Game were rounded out recently with the selection of the reserves. The starters had previously been announced by fan voting.

Eastern Conference starters are: forwards - LeBron James, of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Garnett, of the Boston Celtics; center - Dwight Howard, of the Orlando Magic; guards - Dwyane Wade, of the Miami Heat and Allen Iverson, of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Eastern Conference reserves are: forwards - Chris Bosh, of the Toronto Raptors, Paul Pierce, of the Boston Celtics and Gerald Wallace, of the Charlotte Bobcats; center - Al Horford, of the Atlanta Hawks; guards - Joe Johnson, of the Atlanta Hawks, Rajon Rondo, of the Boston Celtics and Derrick Rose, of the Chicago Bulls.

Western Conference starters are: forwards - Tim Duncan, of the San Antonio Spurs and Carmelo Anthony, of the Denver Nuggets; center - Amar'e Stoudemire, of the Phoenix Suns; guards - Kobe Bryant, of the Los Angeles Lakers and Steve Nash, of the Phoenix Suns.

Western Conference reserves are: forwards - Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dirk Nowitzki, of the Dallas Mavericks and Zach Randolph, of the Memphis Grizzlies; center - Pau Gasol, of the Los Angeles Lakers; guards - Brandon Roy, of the Portland Trail Blazers, Chris Paul, of the New Orleans Hornets and Deron Williams, of the Utah Jazz.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb. 14, from Dallas, Texas.

It is great to see seven first-time All-Stars selected, however some of the above names definitely deserve to be All-Stars and others are on the team just because of name recognition.

Below is a list of the worthy and unworthy All-Stars, as well as a list of the players that were snubbed during the selection process.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Most Worthy - Gerald Wallace, who should've made his first NBA All-Star game in the 2006-2007 season, but is getting his first chance in the spotlight this year. Wallace is averaging 18.8 points per game, which is near a career-high, and is also averaging an amazing career-high 11 rebounds per game, despite standing just 6-feet, 7-inches.

Wallace's downfall the past few seasons was that he played on a losing team in the Bobcats. Thankfully, this year that isn't being held against him.

Most Unworthy - The obvious choice here is Allen Iverson, who was voted a starter by fans, despite having the worst season of his 14-year career. He has played in just 24 games this season, and is averaging 14.9 points per game which is the lowest of his career. Iverson is also averaging career lows in assists and steals.

Had Iverson not been selected a starter, Joe Johnson likely would've taken his place in the starting lineup. That would've allowed the coaches to select a more worthy player as a reserve.

But since Iverson was selected by fan voting, the Most Unworthy tag will go to reserve Paul Pierce instead. Pierce is scoring the second-fewest points per game of his career, and is also averaging a career-low in rebounds per game. His individual game is being hurt by having both Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo as teammates, but ultimately this year he is a little off, and this is a year where there are two other forwards who are having more worthy All-Star seasons.

Snubs - The two biggest snubs for Eastern Conference players are David Lee, of the New York Knicks, and Josh Smith, of the Atlanta Hawks.

Lee is having an amazing career year for the Knicks, averaging 19.6 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. He is also one of the main reasons the Knicks aren't cellar dwellers in the Eastern Conference this season.

Smith is not averaging a career-high in points, he is at 15 points per game currently, but he is at a career-high in rebounds with 8.5 points per game. He also averages slightly over two blocks per game, and is one of the most dynamic players on an exciting young team to watch.

Had Iverson and Pierce not made the team, Lee and Smith would've been easy selections to put in their place.

Honorable Mention Snubs - Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks; Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers; Antwan Jamison, Washington Wizards; Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Most Worthy - Brandon Roy, who, despite also being injured off and on during the first half of the season, is helping to hold an injury plagued Portland Trail Blazers team together and keeping the Blazers in the middle of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

Roy is having a picture-perfect All-Star season, averaging a career-high 23.1 points per game, and nearly averaging career highs in rebounds and assists. Without him as the team leader and go-to player, the Blazers, currently sixth in the Western Conference, would be completely out of the playoff picture.

Most Unworthy - For the most part, the fans and the coaches got the Western Conference team correct. However nitpicky it might be, there are three of the Western team's big men that are iffy All-Stars.

The first is Amar'e Stoudemire, who is having an average year for him in points, rebounds and field goal percentage. However, he was voted in by the fans, and there is no clear cut dominant center in the Western Conference with Yao Ming injured.

However, Pau Gasol was voted in by the coaches, despite having played in just 30 games and tying his career low in points per game from his rookie season. He has been plagued by injuries so far this season, and hasn't made any improvements in the minor categories for big men such as assists, steals or field goal percentage.

And Zach Randolph has always been a player capable of averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for a season since his rookie year eight seasons ago. However, he has never fully lived up to his potential in previous stops in Portland, Los Angeles or New York. His attitude has always been a question mark of his career, and while he is averaging over 20 points and 11 rebounds per game, he is only a 50 percent field goal shooter.

Snubs - Since there weren't any glaring unworthy All-Stars, it is tough to pick those who got snubbed. But there is one glaring omission, and this is Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis. Ellis is averaging a career-high in points, with 25.9 per game, assists, with 5.6 per game and steals, with 2.1 per game. He is also near his career-high in rebounds per game.

Also, Gasol's Los Angeles Lakers teammate Andrew Bynum would've been a stronger backup center pick, as he is averaging career-highs in points and rebounds, and has a better shooting percentage than Gasol. He has also played in more games than Gasol.

Finally, Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies has also made improvement in each of his three seasons, and is tied with his career-high in points per game, and is nearly averaging a career-high in rebounds and assists per game.

Honorable Mention Snubs - Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets; Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies; Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers; Corey Maggette, Golden State Warriors.